British Open: Rory McIlroy six clear after three rounds

Rory McIlroy extended his lead to six shots on Saturday. The Northern Irishman shot a four-under par 68 to finish on 16-under par with 18 holes remaining.

Rickie Fowler will be paired with McIlroy in the final round after claiming second outright on Saturday. The American's round included eight birdies and four bogeys.

Sergio Garcia is also in contention again at the Open Championship but may have too much to do on Sunday. The Spaniard's third round 69 leaves him on nine-under par.

Like Garcia, Dustin Johnson could be ready to capitalize if McIlroy falters on Sunday. The powerful American is tied for third with the Spaniard on nine-under par.

Bad weather threatened to disrupt the third round, but the predicted thunderstorms skirted the course located on England's northwest coast. As a precaution, tournament officials started play early on Saturday with players teeing off from both the first and 10th holes -- a first in Open Championship history.

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McIlroy on course for first Open title

McIlroy on course for first Open title

McIlroy on course for first Open title

McIlroy on course for first Open title

McIlroy on course for first Open title

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Rory McIlroy six shots clear after three rounds of Open Championship at Hoylake

Threat of thunderstorms sees round three start from two tees for first time ever

Hoylake, England (CNN) -- The British Open is Rory McIlroy's to lose.

On a day when the weather finally bared its teeth at Royal Liverpool, so did the Northern Irishman.

At one stage of this historic championship round -- with two tees in operation for the first time ever -- another dynamic 25-year-old threatened the fairytale Merseyside had been dreaming of.

Rickie Fowler tied McIlroy for the lead as the two-time major champion toiled amid the thick and unforgiving rough of Hoylake's 12th hole.

But that seemed the catalyst for the home favorite to turn on the afterburners, as two eagles on his final three holes wrested the famed Claret Jug ever closer to his clubhouse locker.

The roar that followed his three on the final green was of the pitch one expects to greet the winning putt.

It may well prove to be the telling blow.

A six-shot lead going into a final round that should see a return to the benign weather of the first two days means a third major of McIlroy's fledgling career is within touching distance.

Fowler's only hope is to recapture the furious pace he set early on Saturday. Seven birdies drew him level with McIlroy before three bogeys halted a gallant charge.

He will make up a final group with a combined age 14 years junior to that of five-time Open champion Tom Watson, who sits on five-over for the tournament.

Spain's Sergio Garcia and Dustin Johnson, from America, both lie on nine-under with Frenchman Victor Dubuisson a further shot behind.

But McIlroy is in such form it'd take a return to the dark days of his Augusta meltdown in 2011 to derail his procession towards Hoylake's honors board, and entry to an exclusive club.

Only Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods managed to win three majors in the modern era by the age of 25.

By Sunday night, McIlroy could have 75% of a career grand slam sewn up and make that twosome a supremely talented hat-trick.

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"I never thought I'd be able to be in this position," McIlroy told reporters as torrential rain crashed down on the media centre roof, justifying the decision to send the players out early.

"I'm going to try and put all that out of my head because it would be way too much to think about, way too much to ponder.

"Not a lot of people have achieved a career grand slam and if everything goes the right way tomorrow, to get to three-quarters of the way there is some achievement by the age of 25.

"I'd be in pretty illustrious company, I don't want to get ahead of ourselves but it would mean an awful lot. First things first, play a good solid round tomorrow and if that means I'm going to Augusta with a bit of hype then so be it."

It was fitting that a biblical downpour erupted just as McIlroy filed in to face the gathered press, for Hoylake has proved something of a perfect storm for him.

Intent on improving his record in golf's oldest major, McIlroy spent the weeks leading up to the tournament shaping his game on the links courses of his native Northern Ireland.

It has made quite a difference.

The 25-year-old has arrested a decline that saw finishes of 25th, 60th and 116th in the last three years and now sits one solid round away from landing his first Open title.

With savage thunderstorms sweeping northwards, the R&A decided to operate two starting tees for the first time in the tournament's history, sending groups of three out from 9am.

Best call ever from the R&A to play early @The_Open because of weather, well done! @McIlroyRory is on a roll but we'll try to give him a run

This meant after a twilight finish on Friday, McIlroy barely had time to hit the gym and watch a movie, as he has done after both rounds so far, before he was due back at the course.

And like yesterday, his start was sluggish.

A bogey on the first, coupled with playing partner Dustin Johnson's birdie, saw his four-shot lead chopped in half immediately.

I'd be in pretty illustrious company, I don't want to get ahead of ourselves but it would mean an awful lot.Rory McIlroy

He canceled out that error with a birdie on the fifth but seemed more content to protect his lead than exert himself to extend it.

Fowler was the opposite.

In weather that would make most Californians recoil in horror, the 25-year-old reveled in the hanging cloud and spitting rain that swept across the Wirral Peninsula.

He recorded four birdies in six holes to close the gap on McIlroy, with Garcia fighting to keep pace in the same group.

When Fowler rolled in a 30ft putt on the 11th, a shot for shot Sunday battle between the Florida neighbors who first met at the amateur Walker Cup battle between the U.S. and Great Britain and Ireland in 2007 looked likely.

Another birdie on 12 took Fowler to 12-under and when McIlroy missed a short par putt on the same green not 15 minutes later, the Open had joint-leaders.